The Keep Arkansas Beautiful Foundation's Litter-Free Zone
program, initially funded by a Walmart Foundation grant and designed
for elementary and middle-school grade levels, encourages students to apply the program’s
service-learning principles in class, on campus, in the school’s neighborhood
and eventually throughout the community. Students participating in the
Litter-Free Zone program become “Litter Scene Investigators.” As they discover
litter on campus and apply critical thinking, they question where it comes from
and who or what might be responsible for creating it. As students collect and
analyze their findings, they create solutions for controlling and eliminating
the problem, using skills from other core curricula, including math, science,
social studies, English and art. They also visit with local law enforcement
officers to learn about litter laws and enforcement practices. To date, this Keep Arkansas Beautiful Foundation program has been implemented in 26 schools across the state: